Legacy

Steve Rogers was a tall, broad, muscular man, quite different from when he was young and sickly, and now he was considered attractive by most people's opinions. But that didn't stop him from being nervous about his lunch date with Moira.

It wasn't supposed to be a date, he didn't even have any right to celebrate with her. He wasn't the one who had something to celebrate, and he didn't even know her. But she had given him her phone number, it would have been rude not to call. Then before he knew it they had made plans for lunch. Lunch was safe, Steve had decided. Dinner was a date thing, breakfast was too intimate, lunch was for friends. He hadn't wanted to make her think he was presuming anything, just lunch as friends, to get to know each other and have a nice day out to celebrate her health. Everything had gone so well.

Almost.

When Steve went to end the phone call he ended it with the words, "see you then." And everything was fine, perfect even, if only he hadn't been so polite.

It was polite to let the other person say goodbye as well, but Moira's partying words were very different from Steve's. She didn't say, "sure." Or, "I look forward to it." Or even just repeat his words back in agreement. She said, "it's a date."

Steve had never been on a date, not really. Bucky, his childhood friend had dragged him out on a few double dates but they hardly counted, he barely even spoke to the dames. This was... This was a proper honest to god, date.

As soon as he heard her last word he froze, luckily it was immediately followed by her hanging up so he didn't have a chance to make a fool of himself. But come Friday he would.

Steve was panicking. How was he to act? What was he to say? He could barely get through this new world he had woken up in with his friends help, how was he to do it alone? He couldn't even decide what to wear.

Steve had tried on every item of clothing he owned and cursed himself for his understocked wardrobe. It was only when he realized he was going to be late that he decided to just go in what he was wearing.

So Steve showed up at the diner dressed in his cleanest jeans and a white button up shirt with a light brown jacket thrown on top. Moira wasn't hard to spot.

As soon as he walked inside his eyes were drawn to the young woman with short vibrant blue hair, the straight ends just barely brushing her shoulders. Her dress was a deep blue, but not the same shade as her hair, with a black belt just under her breasts. She looked up and smiled when she saw him, those hazel eyes with purple bags underneath twinkling and two deep red lips curled up on that slightly too pale face. Steve recognized her immediately.

He approached the booth she was sitting at, returning that infectious smile of hers. "Moira," Steve greeted with a nod of his head and waited to be acknowledged before sitting down.

"Steve," she returned the gesture. "I'm glad you came." Moira assured him sweetly, taking a sip of the strawberry milkshake in front of her.

"Well I couldn't leave a pretty da- girl like you waiting." Steve caught himself at the last minute and forced out the rest of the sentence. He cringed at the mistake, this is why he should never talk to women.
Moira just giggled. "What was that?" She asked, clearly amused.

He tried not to look at her, he tried to keep him composure. Of course he failed. Beet red and hiding his face behind his hand Steve explained. "Women don't like to be called dames."

And then she laughed. It was a nice laugh, full of humor and joy, but it did nothing to lessen his embarrassment. Not even five minutes in and Steve had already humiliated himself, at least she wasn't offended.

When finally her laughter subsided she placed her hand over his on the table. "Oh Captain," Moira began, "You truly are a man out of time."

"I'm learning," he admitted meekly. The frail hand on his seemed to burn him despite it being just a tad cooler than it should have been.

"Oh don't be embarrassed." She insisted, her bony fingers stroking his hand. "I think it's cute." And then Steve was even redder than before.

She withdrew her hand and tucked it under her chin attentively. "So tell me, what exactly does that word mean?" Moira asked and Steve pulled his hand closer to himself, missing the contact. "Is it just the old fashioned way of saying girl?"

"Sort of," Steve struggled to explain. Talking was not his strong suit, he could give an inspirational speech, but he couldn't talk to a girl. "More like, pretty young woman. It's supposed to be a compliment but most women find it demeaning."

Moira smiled pleasently and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Mr Rogers are you saying I'm pretty?" She asked, her voice teasing. When Steve didn't answer she went on. "Well that sounds like a compliment to me."

Steve let out a relieved smile. It was supposed to be a compliment, anytime his childhood friend Bucky called a girl a dame she would swoon, but when Steve tried it never went well. At best she was unimpressed, but they were usually offended. Moira seemed to be taking it very well. "It's taking me some time to adjust," he mumbled in apology.

"No, its sweet." Moira insisted, reaching for his hand again. "I don't know what's wrong with other women but you can call me that any time."

Steve wasn't sure if she was being serious or just humoring him but before he could reply the waitress approached and asked for their order.

Things went well after that, conversation was a little hard but Moira seemed to have no trouble picking up Steve's slack when he wasn't sure what to say. She didn't seem to mind how shy he was or that he was incapable of talking without saying something wrong and turning beet red. By the end of lunch he felt thoroughly embarrassed, but Moira made him forget all about it by suggesting a walk through the park. The scenery was beautiful and she asked Steve all kinds of questions about what the city was like when he grew up. It was nice, she didn't ask about Captain America and all his amazing adventures during the war, they did have a laugh about the performance he used to do though. Steve tried not to pry but he did learn Moira was recovering from cancer she had been fighting since she was a child, the doctors had never been more hopeful and if all went well she'd be cancer free in a few months.

Steve was captivated by this interesting woman. She had such a positive outlook on the world despite how hard it had been on her. He didn't want the date to end but when evening drew close they knew their lunch date had gone on far too long. As they said their goodbyes and promised to see each other again Moira did something very unexpected. Considering her behavior and how she detested leaving thing unsaid or undone as they parted she kissed the blond supersoldier. It wasn't the sort of passionate kiss lovers would share, but it wasn't a fleeting peck either. Moira pressed her lips to his and waited a few seconds before pulling away.

"I'll call soon." The frail woman promised, walking away leaving the captain stunned.

Times had changed a lot since he was young but he would never be used to women being so forward, especially with him. Steve still struggled to comprehend that women actually found him desirable, he knew he was considered attractive now that the supersoldier serum had changed him, but a beautiful woman so bursting with life he couldn't help but be swept up in her enthusiasm actually wanted to kiss him. She hadn't asked him out just because he was there, she hadn't been kind to him and called it a date out of pity. Moira truly wanted to spend time with Steve, just how much she wanted from him he didn't know, but the young man was eager to find out.